It's almost Mother's Day, which means a time to reflect on just how wonderful your mother is.
For Nevada, it's a time to reflect on just how bad things are for working mothers.
According to a study by Wallethub of how well businesses treat working mothers, Nevada ranks last in the nation.
Jill Gonzalez with WalletHub told KNPR's State of Nevada that they looked at 13 metrics in three categories: child care, professional opportunities and work-life balance.
“Nevada really has some improving to do when it comes to child care and that work-life balance,” she said.
When it comes to child care costs, Nevada is the third worst in the country: 25 percent of a woman's salary goes to full-time care. That is double the cost in some other states.
The state ranked poorly in professional opportunities mostly because of the low media salary for women -- around $31,000 a year -- and the low unemployment rate for women, which stands at the second worst in the country.
And finally, when it comes work-life balance -- calculated by looking at parental policies, length of average work week and average commute time -- Nevada did poorly because there really is no paid parental leave in the state.
Gonzalez said there are a lot of things state and local governments can do to help make life a little bit easier for working women, but it is also up to private companies to take the first steps.
“Companies should be recognizing that women need affordable, safe child care at least mandating something on the company level,” she said.
From there, governments can step in with mandates for parental leave and pre-K for all children.
Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub
